If you're trying to grow your business and connect with clients on a personal level, then learning how to promote yourself with video showreels is a great step in that direction (Lee is clearly ahead of most of us on this one - check out R.L. Morris Weddings to see what I mean). Today until January 26, Sue Bryce and Hailey Bartholomew will be teaching a step-by-step guide to marketing our businesses with video.
Today and tomorrow only, creativeLIVE will be hosting Adobe certified expert, Erica Gamet as she teaches everything you need to know about Adobe InDesign. This class takes you from the basics, getting familiar with the Adobe workspace, color basics, and working with pages and layers, to advanced type, graphics and table manipulation and working with long documents! This class is designed for those with a firm knowledge of page layout, such as those migrating from QuarkXPress, PageMaker, or Word, and those who want to get past the basics of InDesign.
As you know, Ben Willmore's 3-day workshop on Lightroom is currently LIVE right now on creativeLIVE, but on Sunday January 20, he'll be going at it again for a fourth round teaching us how to master Photoshop! In this workshop Ben will be teaching how to apply adjustments to limited areas, and techniques for removing the background of fuzzy, furry, or hairy subjects. He'll also teach you how to remove the background from trees, glass, and other transparent objects.
As a wedding photographer, I don't know what I would do without Lightroom. I can remember when I first started using Lightroom, I knew practically nothing. Even though I've learned a few tips and tricks from Pye over at SLR Lounge, I still think anyone can benefit from learning more about the programs they use on a day-to-day basis.
Starting Monday January 14 at 9am, creativeLIVE is hosting 3 days of non-stop information for anyone who is interested in learning about filmmaking and editing. Taught by Jeff Medford and Ross Hockrow, you'll come out of this class with the skills to produce web commercials, wedding, birth, family and event films. So whether you're an aspiring filmmaker or a photographer you won't want to miss out on this FREE event.
Starting tomorrow January 12 at 9am creativeLIVE will host Adobe certified expert, Jason Hoppe as he teaches everything you need to know to make an interactive PDF. In this 2-day workshop, Jason will show you how to create forms, use calculations and JavaScript, distribute PDFs, create hyperlinks and bookmarks, and how to embed files in your PDF. As a photographer, this is a very helpful tool to have in your back pocket and you'll impress your clients at the same time.
Starting tomorrow January 9th, wedding photographer, Jasmine Star will be doing a different type of workshop. Hosted by our friends over at creativeLIVE, Jasmine is doing a 3 part series over 3 months on how to completely start your photography business from scratch. Be sure to tune in on January 9, February 13, and March 6 to learn how to rebrand and recreate your photography business.
Starting tomorrow Friday January 4 - January 6, photographer Bambi Cantrell will be sharing helpful tips that can help elevate your portrait photography career. Hosted by creativeLIVE, this workshop will be take place at Bambi's studio in San Francisco. Throughout the 3 days, Bambi will cover how to create stunning backdrops, find inexpensive props, create a strong marketing brand, print images in-house, as well as hair and makeup.
We are all at home visiting our families right now but we just wanted to wish all of our readers and fans a Merry Christmas and Happy Holiday! We're going on almost three years strong now and are so lucky to have such a strong group of creative people that continue to support what we're doing.
In this corporate headshot shoot by The Slanted Lens, Jay P Morgan plays around with a 10, 20 and 30 degree grid to show us how each one will give a drastically different look. Throughout the entire shoot he is constantly feathering the light. If you've ever shot on the streets of New York then you'll understand why he has to keep his set up very mobile.
This Do-It-Yourself equipment video by Jay P Morgan of The Slanted Lens features Cinematographer Lars Lindstrom as he shows us how easy it is to build your own camera shoulder rig. To make this rig all you'll need is some standard PVC piping and a few other items from your home-improvement store. If you're in a bind and can quite afford one of the more expensive rigs, this is a great alternative for just under $10.
Today on Amazon you can get up to 70% off SanDisk Compact Flash Memory Cards. This is a great deal and would make an awesome stocking stuff for yourself or another photographer. Get them while you can!
Starting tomorrow at 9AM, photographer Eddie Tapp will be teaching how to create a new digital workflow. He will be going over something that photographers often struggle; color management. Join Eddie as he teaches insider techniques for processing images in Lightroom as well as creative portrait enhancements. In addition, be sure to catch portrait artist Judy Host on the second day as she will be hosting a special session on how to incorporate graphics and textures into your work.
I'm a big fan of the mission and idea behind websites like Kickstarter. I appreciate creating a community of people from all over the world who help each other pursue their dreams. On Indieagogo, a site similar to Kickstarter, I came across this cool project on photographer, Fred Lyons.
As if we haven't posted enough amazing Holiday deals on Fstoppers lately, here is yet another awesome deal. Today, on Amazon SanDisk SD Memory Cards are more than half off. Get them now before this deal is over!
If you suffer from self-diagnosed A.D.D like most creative professionals, then you need to tune into this free workshop with Jared Platt. From the moment you book the job to the final delivery of the images, Jared will show you efficient techniques that will help improve your workflow. This 3-day workshop starts tomorrow December 6th - December 8th at 9AM. As with all creativeLIVE workshops, the LIVE event is FREE.
If you've always wanted to get into wedding cinematography then this is your jump start. Starting at 9AM tomorrow, Monday December 3 creativeLIVE will be hosting a FREE Wedding Cinematography workshop With Vanessa & Rob. Together, they've got a career's worth of film-making knowledge and will be packing it into this three day course.
In this video from The Slanted Lens, Jay P Morgan shows us a behind the scenes look at how you can achieve that colorful, rich-looking sunset. This is a technique that is a must if you do any type of portraiture or wedding photography. Your clients will be really happy with the results, not to mention it will look great in your portfolio. This photo shoot is for writer, Robert L. Harding's novel titled, Death of the Wayang.
With a simple change in focal length, we know that we can drastically change and control the depth of field. In this lesson from The Slanted Lens, Jay P Morgan shoots a fashion portrait at the Vasquez Rocks in California. Not only does he cover how to control the depth of field, but you'll also learn how he uses this tip to enhance his work.
If you have any interest in fashion photography then you won't want to miss this free 3-day workshop hosted by creativeLIVE. Now, starting today October 22 through Oct 24, fashion photographer Lara Jade will be teaching Fashion Photography 101. Lara will cover casting your styling team and model to the shoot day itself: shooting in-studio and on-location, lighting techniques, model direction, and finally, retouching, business, marketing, and social media advertising. Whatever your experience level, you can learn something from this workshop.
For someone on the move, the Canon T4i is not a bad option. This camera is the smallest you can get without going mirrorless. From 9am-1pm today only, creativeLIVE will be hosting an intensive workshop with Photographer John Greengo. John will go in-depth with the Canon T4i and show you how to get the most out of what you have in the least amount of time.
In this lighting lesson, Jay P. Morgan of The Slanted Lens offers a very cool DIY effect; how to make smoke lay on water. Achieving smoke and wind in photography are two very difficult tasks that Jay P. made very easy by showing this step by step process. Have you guys ever experienced with smoke and wind? If so, share your images and how you did it in the comments below.
If you weren't able to attend Photoshop World don't worry because creativeLIVE has teamed up with internationally acclaimed speaker and author of "Photoshop CS6: The Missing Manual", Lesa Snider. In this 3-day intensive workshop, Lesa will spend each day going over photoshop selections, adjustment layers, and smart objects. Lesa's workshop has already began however there are still 2 days left to tune in to her free-to-watch workshops.
Now available on Netflix, "Shooting Robert King" goes behind the scenes of what it was like to be a documentary war photographer. You always hear and see images from the war but NEVER about what it's like to be thrown into it as a documentary photographer. At just 24, American photojournalist Robert King began his 15 year journey to follow his passion. Originally he set out to win a Pulitzer prize, but in the end found himself with a life changing experience.
With the video capabilities of DSLRs constantly increasing, we have come to expect a lot from new releases. The Canon 6D doesn't disappoint. Much like the newest Nikon D800 you'll have more creative control over depth of field as well as full manual control over exposure and audio levels. Check this sample footage from the recently announced Canon 6D. Do you think it competes with the Canon 7D or the 5DMK III?
Shot entirely on a Nikon D7000, wedding photographer Dieter Chaney did something I never thought was possible. Having free time during the dinner break, he was able to edit his favorite images using the Snapseed App (from Nik Software) right on his ipad. He later displayed them in a slideshow for all of the wedding guests to see. How's that for instant gratification?
This lesson from Jay P. Morgan of The Slanted Lens is a little different than his others. Mostly shooting on a Canon 7D with a Tamron 17-50mm lens, he gives several helpful tips on how he shot this celebrity event. We may not always be able to bring extra lighting and a Kessler Crane but there are will always be more to learn ways we can improve. Check out this video for more ways to learn!
A new “trend” seems to have rolled into the photography world. What is this trend? It’s called the “morning after” wedding photography session, and to me it's a little absurd.
Talented Magnum Photographer, Christopher Anderson, experienced something that completely changed his life. In June 2000, while traveling in Haiti, he met writer Michael Finkel and together they documented a group of 44 Haitians on their journey to the United States. A few days after they set sail, they realized the handmade boat was sinking. Anderson’s first reaction was to continue taking pictures – even though he knew there was a chance they may never be seen.
Cat Cora, a well known celebrity from the Food Network show Iron Chef as well as Bravo TV's Around the World in 80 Plates, was arrested for drinking and driving in Santa Barbara, California. It looks like this particular police station has taken a few lighting lessons from Peter Hurley. Anyone care to take a guess at the lighting setup?
It's all about light painting today. German collective group, Lichtfaktor took what we normally see in photographic form and made a dreamlike video animation for the brand dENiZEN™. Taking only five nights to film, this crew spent many hours planning and rehearsing the story line and, incredibly, no post production was needed once they were done filming.
In this behind the scenes video, photographer Jay P. Morgan of The Slanted Lens shows us how he shoots zombies through a car using a Kessler shuttle pod. The camera movement is the most crucial part in making this commercial. The Kessler pod has to stay high enough so that when they move through the car, it will not shake the camera.
For the second episode of his show called Capture, Mark Seliger sits down with the great Albert Watson to discuss his most memorable images. He tells the stories of how he photographed Alfred Hitchcock, Christy Turlington, a Las Vegas dominatrix, and Mick Jagger as a leopard. Lauren Bush Lauren also chimes in about her work for the nonprofit organization FEED, which allows her the opportunity to photograph children in Africa.
Voted the best professional cameras of 2012-2013 by the EISA, the Nikon D4 and the Nikon D800 take the lead. The EISA magazines found that the Nikon D4 camera has an exceptional combination of high resolution, wide dynamic range, very low noise levels even at ISO 12800, super- fast autofocus, short response time and high frame rates that can be maintained for very long sequences.
Chances are you've been asked to shoot someone's headshot before. As photographers, we need to be able to make our client(s) look as good as possible. To be able to light, shoot and retouch skin are vital skills that keep our doors open, and food on the table. Hollywood photographer and digital illustrator, Lee Varis been a photographer for 40 years and involved in digital imaging for 20 years.
